Night Led You Home, To My Open Arms
by Selene Illusinia
Summary: Flynn has a bad night and ends up at Eve's.


He was going to drive her crazy. Flynn may be the Librarian (she was inclined to make a joke about him being the head librarian among the librarians), but he was going to make her crazy. His rampaging around alone was worrying enough, not to mention his occasional appearance screaming about dragons or other monsters that, she might add, _shouldn't exist._ But this? This was perhaps the most irritating thing he'd done yet.

She wasn't sure why the idea Flynn drank was so surprising, but the idea he was standing drunk on her doorstep at nearly one in the morning was one she hadn't considered possible (namely because she'd never told him where she lived). She should have considered it as a potential eventuality. Out of all the weird things she's seen in the last few months, this should have been on there. But it hadn't been and now she wasn't completely sure what to do. Or why he was there looking like a sad puppy.

"Flynn?"

The man in question blinked up at her in clear despair and maybe just a bit of confusion. His body was propped against the doorway to her room like the jam was the only thing holding him upright. She thought it possibly might have been. "I thought I had it. I thought I'd found my way back."

"Flynn," sighed Eve, reaching out to wrap an arm around his shoulders and guide him inside. Of course, this had to do with the library. She should have guessed. "You'll find a way back."

"I was so close," slurred Flynn sadly, his head lolling onto her shoulder as he let her lead him inside. He smelled like a bar and she was half tempted to shove him in the shower. He probably couldn't stand on his own right now, though. "So close I could taste the knowledge!"

"I think you had more than a taste of something," muttered Eve, settling the drunk librarian on her couch before heading to the kitchen to get him some water. He was going to have a killer headache in the morning, but it would be his own fault. She'd never had sympathy for those who brought things on themselves. However, she would be a ear he could chew tonight and the friend who took care of him tomorrow, even if she thought he'd been stupid to get drunk in the first place. It was her role as a guardian and, potentially, as his lover.

Filling a glass for him and snagging the aspirin he'd likely need tomorrow just to keep it on hand, she grabbed a beer for herself and headed into the living room to hear what had gone so completely wrong.

Reentering the room, she was slightly surprised to find Flynn laying face down on the couch cushions. She'd been half expecting to find him on the floor with as depressed as he'd seemed. Then again, the night was still young. Her own beer clicked against the coffee table as she set it down before kneeling on the ground and shoving Flynn's shoulder in an attempt to get him to sit up. His groan of protest wasn't encouraging.

"Flynn, sit up," ordered Eve as she shifted from shoving his shoulder to physically attempting to pry him up. The result was him rolling off the couch and into her lap.

Through great restraint, she managed to avoid rolling her eyes at the childish act of the man in her lap. What was he, twelve? "Really Flynn?"

"Hm?" asked Flynn, blinking up at her sadly. "What?"

Sighing, Eve shook her head as her fingers began to slide through Flynn's hair. There wasn't much she could do to persuade him to move and she wasn't going to dump him off her, either. "You could have just sat up."

"Sitting never helps me think," stated Flynn dismissively. He shifted his head a little, settling against her thighs. "You're comfy."

"I'm not a pillow," sighed Eve, snatching up her beer and taking a sip. "Want to tell me what happened?"

Flynn's response was to groan and bury his head in her lap like a child. Wonderful. It must be pretty bad if he was this reluctant to talk. Still, she could feel him talking into her lap- she just couldn't hear him, which wasn't exactly helpful.

"My ears aren't down there, Flynn," reminded Eve calmly, her fingers rubbing along his back in what was supposed to be a comforting gesture. She wasn't exactly a symbol of maternal instinct.

Turning his head to the side, Flynn glanced back at her mournfully. "I'd found a book I'd never seen, older than anything I'd come across on the Library's history. It was the first book on the library ever written! I thought the answer was inside. They even gave an explanation of how the portals were constructed. But when I tried it, the whole thing blew up in my face."

"Blew up?!" repeated Eve, momentarily becoming concerned. Still, Flynn didn't look injured, so it couldn't have been that bad. "Were you hurt?"

"No, found the Sphinx's nose though," remarked Flynn, like it was some everyday occurrence. Eve just took another swig of her beer and tried to pretend that was still weird to hear (it wasn't even the weirdest thing she'd heard that day). "I want to find it, but it's starting to feel impossible."

"If anyone can find the Library again, it's you," stated Eve softly as her fingers slid through his hair. "But even you need a break. Stay tonight."

"Not sure I can find my way home," admitted Flynn, a smile tugging at his lips. "Did you know there's a drink called an Irish Car Bomb? And that there's alcohol in Long Island Iced Tea?"

"Yes, I did," confirmed Eve with a chuckle. "And here I thought you were going to say you got wine from Dionysus."

"Nah, the wine stashes of Dionysus were cleaned out centuries ago," dismissed Flynn easily. "Too bad. That cult was supposed to have the best wine."

Shaking her head, Eve set her beer aside and pushed at Flynn until he was sitting up beside her rather than laying in her lap. "Come on, let's get you to bed."

"With you, right?" asked Flynn hopefully, looking up at her with big eyes.

"You aren't getting my bed to yourself, if that's what you're thinking," stated Eve as she hoisted his arm around her shoulders. "Just behave."

"I'll be a perfect gentleman," insisted Flynn, one of his heads flying out in what she guessed would have been a motion accompanied by a bow if she weren't holding him up.

"I'm sure," chuckled Eve as she helped him into her room and onto her bed.

Immediately he began stripping and Eve turned back to the living room to get his water glass and the painkillers he'd inevitably need come the morning. When she returned a minute later, he was half under her covers, asleep, and down to his boxers. It was hilarious the way he was sprawled across her bed, to the point where she was tempted to take a photo. Still, she resisted, instead opting to settle him onto the bed and pull the covers over him. She placed both the painkillers and water beside him on the small nightstand before she turned her attention to trying to figure out how she was going to fit in the bed with Flynn. It wasn't that she had a small bed, but he was pretty sprawled out. Literally, he was pretty much sleeping diagonally across her bed. That didn't exactly leave her with a lot of options. Then again, it wasn't like she was opposed to being close to him either.

Releasing a sigh, she climbed onto her bed, pushing Flynn's arm out of the way and flopping beside him. Exhaustion was pressing on her and all she wanted at this point was to sleep. She curled easily into her sheets, turning her back on Flynn and burying her head in her pillow. At least now she could get some rest.

An arm flung itself around her waist suddenly, nearly sending her shooting up in the bed. She hadn't forgotten Flynn was there (that was impossible), but she hadn't been expecting him to reach out for her in his sleep either. Still, the arm around her waist tightened half a second before she felt the entire length of his body curl along her back. His head buried itself against the back of her neck and his fingers tangled themselves into her sleep shirt. She let them remain there for a few seconds before prying his digits free and lacing them with her own. Flynn didn't need to rip her shirt in the middle of the night- which he'd likely do.

Closing her eyes again, Eve allowed the steady rhythm of Flynn's chest against her back lull her towards sleep. Part of her wanted to stay awake and enjoy his presence, but the other half was too tired to care. Besides, he'd still be there in the morning (hopefully) and, if he was, they could always cuddle together and enjoy it then.


End file.
